At my cousin Aria’s engagement party, her fiancé showed up with a heavy metal safe, claiming it was filled with gold bars as part of his engagement gift to her. Aria was overwhelmed with emotion and was just about to open it, but he stopped her. He sweet-talked her, insisting she shouldn’t open the safe and instead suggested moving it straight to our family’s safe deposit box for safekeeping. Naturally, he asked my parents to guard it for Aria. But here’s the thing—those “gold bars” were obviously fake. His plan was to pass the problem to my family, so later, when the truth came out, Aria would blame us for stealing the gold. That way, he could call off the wedding and demand the engagement gift money back. I exposed his scheme on the spot, but Aria just laughed it off and forgave him. The wedding went ahead as planned. However, on the wedding day, it was Aria’s bold move that completely shattered him. “Luna, this is the engagement gift from our family to you,” Colin’s mom said warmly. “I bought a few gold bars years ago when the price was low. We’re not wealthy and don’t have much to give, but we hope you’ll accept this gift with no hard feelings.” She carefully set a polished, elegant box on the table. I blinked, feeling momentarily disoriented by the familiar scene. It was as though I’d been transported to that exact moment from my previous life. But soon, I snapped back to my senses. I glanced toward my parents, and my eyes stung with emotion. Taking a few steps forward, I threw my arms around them tightly. In my last life, my biggest regret before I died was leaving my parents behind. I was afraid they’d be heartbroken, unable to cope with losing me. Colin, Aria’s boyfriend, held her hand and gave her a heartfelt declaration: “Babe, I’m sorry for putting you through so much. I promise, after we’re married, I’ll take care of you like a queen.” Aria lowered her head shyly, her cheeks flushed. “It’s not a hardship at all,” she murmured. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.” My aunt and uncle were beaming with joy, practically unable to contain their excitement as they stared at the dazzling box. “You’re too kind,” my uncle said to Colin’s mom. “We’re lucky to have such a generous gift. Without Aria, we’d never see this much gold in our lives!” In my previous life, this was the exact moment I started getting suspicious. Colin’s family wasn’t wealthy—how could they afford to give such an extravagant gift? Something felt off. Later, when Colin left, I discreetly advised Aria to double-check the gold bars to make sure everything was legitimate. Her face immediately darkened. “You’re just jealous of me,” she snapped. “You can’t stand to see me happy!” My parents quickly stepped in to smooth things over, and I decided to drop the subject. But the truth was, the gold in that box was fake. This was all part of Colin’s plan to break off the engagement without taking the blame. Under Colin’s sweet talk and endless promises, Aria never even opened the box to check. Instead, she insisted on moving the box into our family’s safe for safekeeping. That box of fake gold bars wasn’t just a scam—it was the beginning of my death countdown.
Aria and Colin didn’t start dating until after college. Aria had fallen for him at first sight during freshman orientation. Colin was handsome and aloof, which only made her more determined to pursue him. She spent all four years chasing him relentlessly, despite his indifference. It wasn’t until after graduation, when Colin broke up with his ex-girlfriend, that he finally agreed to date her. Once they got together, Aria became completely obsessed. She saw every woman in Colin’s life as a threat, convinced that any female interaction was a potential rival. Even I—her younger cousin, whom she met only once on their engagement day—wasn’t spared from her suspicions. In truth, Colin was exhausted. He’d tried to break up with her several times because of her unhealthy possessiveness, but every time, Aria would spiral into threats of self-harm to force him to stay. I only learned about this from my aunt when she came to our house, crying about the situation. So, when Colin finally agreed to marry Aria, she was over the moon. Her obsessive love for him blinded her to everything else. On the day of the engagement, under Colin’s sweet words and grand promises, Aria happily placed the engagement gift—the box of purported gold bars—into our family’s safe for safekeeping. The very next day, Aria showed up at our house in a hurry, saying she felt uneasy and wanted to keep the gold bars closer to her. Thinking nothing of it, I retrieved the box from the safe and handed it to her. She opened it on the spot and was horrified to discover its contents—cheap, fake gold ornaments, not real gold bars. Her face turned pale as she clutched the box and ran out the door. I assumed she was rushing to confront Colin, so I didn’t think much of it and moved on with my day. But what came next was something I could never have imagined. Aria burst into my house in a frenzy and stabbed me to death. Not only that—she dismembered my body. It wasn’t until after my death that I learned the truth. Colin had used Aria as a scapegoat, claiming she had lost the engagement gift. Then, he turned around and married another woman. When Aria tried to reconcile with him, he not only rejected her but also demanded she repay the “missing” engagement gift worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Consumed by rage and despair, Aria blamed everything on me. In her twisted mind, I was the cause of her humiliation and loss. That’s why she showed up at my door and killed me. The pain of dying like that was indescribable—pure agony. No one would ever want to experience it again. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine. This time, I vowed to stay far away from Aria and her obsessive, toxic love life. I was determined to live, and to live well.
At this moment, Colin was gazing at Aria with tenderness, as if she were the only person in the world. “Sweetheart, this engagement gift is really important. It’s tied to our wedding and our future together. Your cousin’s family has a safe—we could leave it with them for safekeeping. What do you think?” And here it was—the same tired routine. I could already see Aria, swept away by his sweet words, getting ready to stash the six-figure engagement gift at our house again. Before she could agree, I quickly stepped forward. “Colin,” I said with a smile, “our family’s safe broke down a few weeks ago. I’m afraid we can’t take on the responsibility of guarding something so valuable. If something went wrong before the wedding, it’d be terrible.” My parents, standing nearby and unaware of the brewing tension, looked like they were about to offer help. I discreetly stopped them with a glance. Hearing my comment about potential wedding issues, Aria hesitated and seemed to snap out of her daze. “Maybe we should just keep it at my house…” But Colin frowned. “Your cousin’s neighborhood has better security. Fewer people coming and going. Even without a safe, it’s still safer to leave it there.” Aria mulled it over and nodded, eyes sparkling as she turned to my dad. “Uncle, would you mind keeping it for us for a little while? Once we move into our new home after the wedding, we’ll take it back.” I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they’d fall out of my head. They really weren’t going to let this go, were they? My dad, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, was about to agree, but I jumped in again. “You know, nowhere’s safer than the bank,” I suggested. “Why not rent a safe deposit box and store it there instead?” Colin’s face immediately tensed, and his parents, who had been quietly observing, started shifting nervously in their seats, stealing glances at Colin. Their reaction made me laugh bitterly to myself. So, they all knew the gold bars were fake. And here they were, trying to drag my clueless family into their scheme. “Is there a problem?” I asked innocently. “I think it’s a pretty good suggestion.” Colin’s mom smacked her knee and exclaimed, “But I heard gold prices are still going up! Storing it at the bank now would be a huge loss!” Colin quickly chimed in, “Exactly! Selling it or storing it would cost too much in fees.” I nodded along as if I agreed. Then, with a smile, I added, “That’s true if you sell it. But you could just store the gold bars in a safe deposit box. That way, you don’t lose value, and you get the added security. “Plus, no one’s home security system can compare to a bank’s. If something happens and it’s stolen, the bank’s insurance will cover it. At home, once it’s gone, it’s just gone.” Colin’s face turned sour, and he looked down, playing the part of a heartbroken man. “This engagement gift is our family’s hard-earned savings,” he muttered. “I just wanted Aria to be able to see my sincerity whenever she wanted…” Aria, moved by his “sadness,” quickly jumped in. “There’s no need to take it to the bank. We’ll just keep it at home.” Every time Colin and Aria disagreed, all it took was a sad look from Colin to make Aria cave. But I’d already lived through this story once before, and there was no way I was letting myself get dragged into their drama again. If Colin wanted to act, well, two could play that game.
I put on my best sincere smile and said to Aria, “How about this? Our family will gift you a safe as a wedding present. That way, you don’t have to worry about the engagement gift being stolen, and you can always see Colin’s sincerity whenever you like.” “Congratulations in advance, Aria and Colin! Wishing you a happy marriage that lasts forever.” If buying a safe was all it took to get these two out of my life, I’d gladly pay for it. Colin’s parents were now frantically signaling to him with their eyes, but Colin seemed momentarily at a loss for words. Aria, on the other hand, beamed at me. “That’s such a thoughtful gift! Thank you!” Colin hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. He immediately tried to wave it off. “That’s really unnecessary! These gold bars are worth over a hundred thousand dollars. Buying a safe would be expensive, and it’d take too much time. We have plans to meet friends later, so we’re in a bit of a rush.” “Yes, exactly!” his mom added. “There’s just no time!” I turned to Colin with a pointed look and threw his own words back at him. “But Colin, this is your way of showing Aria your sincerity. Isn’t it worth spending a little extra time and money?” “Besides,” I said brightly, “I know a jeweler nearby who could come over in just a few minutes. They can even verify the gold bars’ authenticity for you while they’re here!” The room fell silent. I could see Colin’s panic setting in. His lips twitched as he stammered, “Th-there’s no need for that. It’d be such a hassle for you to call someone…” “Not at all!” I said cheerfully. “In fact, here they are now.” I pointed to the jeweler walking into the room. I grabbed the box of “gold bars” off the table and handed it to the jeweler. Colin’s face turned pale as he lunged forward to stop me. “What are you doing? You can’t just make decisions without asking the adults first!” Oh, he was panicking now. I calmly pushed his hand away and passed the box to the jeweler, who opened it right there in front of everyone. Inside the box, instead of gleaming gold bars, were cheap, fake gold decorations that couldn’t fool a child.
When the jeweler opened the box to reveal a set of cheap, gold-plated trinkets wrapped in red velvet, the entire room fell silent. Not even Aria said a word. Honestly, even I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. No wonder Colin didn’t want to store them in a bank or have anyone verify them. He couldn’t even be bothered to spring for convincing props—he was trying to frame me with the cheapest fake gold imaginable. And yet, these fake gold bars were the reason I lost my life in my last life. I couldn’t help but wonder what terrible thing I must have done in a past life to deserve being tangled up with people like Aria and Colin in this one. Colin’s entire family sat there with faces as pale as ghosts, unable to say a word. My aunt and uncle, furious and humiliated, tried to drag Aria out of the restaurant, but Aria just sat in her chair, sobbing uncontrollably, refusing to leave. “Colin, explain this! Tell me this isn’t true!” she cried. But Colin stayed silent, refusing to meet her gaze. I didn’t waste any more time watching their drama unfold. I grabbed my parents and left the restaurant, leaving them to sort out their mess on their own.
When we got home, I sat my parents down and told them everything that had happened in my previous life. In that life, I never even knew what was going on. One day, I opened the door, and Aria came charging at me with a knife like a lunatic. After I died, my parents were devastated. My mom was so grief-stricken she had a severe asthma attack and ended up in the hospital. My dad, holding back his own heartbreak, handled all the funeral arrangements and spent the rest of his days taking care of my mom in the hospital. It wasn’t long before he collapsed too. When I finished telling them the story, both my parents had tears in their eyes. My mom pulled me into a tight hug, gently patting my back. “You’ve been through so much, sweetheart. It’s all in the past now. We’re together, and we’re safe. That’s all that matters now. And we’ll stay healthy and happy, I promise.” My dad clenched his fists, his voice shaking with anger. “That Aria’s nothing but an ungrateful brat. She wouldn’t dare lay a finger on that scumbag Colin, but she had no problem taking it out on you. If she shows up here again, I’ll deal with her myself.” My mom was quick to agree. “Exactly! She isn’t setting foot in this house again. Not ever.” I wiped the tears from my face and calmed them down. “Mom, Dad, we can’t act impulsively. We don’t want to do anything illegal. But if they try to mess with us again, we’ll fight back with everything we’ve got.” A few days later, after the engagement fiasco, my parents went to work, leaving me alone at home. That’s when I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, I was stunned to see Aria standing there. Before I could say a word, she stormed in and slapped me across the face. “You jealous little b****! You just can’t stand to see me happy, can you?” she shrieked.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295309”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #励志Inspiring #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic #校园School #狼人Werewolf #擦边Steamy
Leave a Reply